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Mexico

The United Mexican States or Mexico (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos or México; regarding the use of the variant spelling Méjico, see section The name below) is a country located in North America, bordered by the United States to the north, and Belize and Guatemala to the southeast. It is the northernmost and westernmost country in Latin America, and also the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world.

Motto: none
Anthem: Mexicanos, al grito de guerra
Capital Mexico City
19°03′ N 99°22′ W
Largest city Mexico City
Official language(s) Spanish
Government  • President Federal Republic
Vicente Fox
Independence
 • Declared
 • Recognized
From Spain
September 16, 1810
September 27, 1821
Area
 • Total
 • Water (%)
 
1,964,375 km² (13th)
2.5%
Population
 • 2005 est.
 • 2000 census

 • Density
 
106,202,903 (11th)
97,483,412

54.3/km² (117th)
GDP (PPP)
 • Total
 • Per capita
2004 estimate
$1.005 trillion (13th)
$9,666 (66th)
HDI (2003) 0.814 (53rd) – high
Currency Peso (MXN)
Time zone
 • Summer (DST)
(UTC-8 to -6)
varies (UTC)
Internet TLD .mx
Calling code +52

History

Pre-Hispanic Times

Hunter-Gatherer peoples are thought to have discovered and habitated its territory more than 28,000 years ago. Ancient Mexicans began to selectively breed corn plants around 8,000 B.C. Evidence shows the explosion of pottery works by 2300 B.C. and the beginning of intensive farming between 1800 and 1500 BC.

For more than 3,000 years, Mexico was the site of several Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the Aztec, the Olmec, Teotihuacan, the Toltec, Mixtec, Zapotec and the Mayan.

These indigenous civilizations are credited with many inventions: pyramid-temples, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, writing, highly-accurate calendars, fine arts, intensive agriculture, engineering, an abacus, a complex theology, and the wheel.

Archaic inscriptions on rocks and rock walls all over northern Mexico (especially in the state of Nuevo León) demonstrate an early propensity for counting in Mexico. These very early and ancient count-markings were associated with astronomical events and underscore the influence that astronomical activities had upon Mexican natives, even before they possessed civilization. In fact, the later Mexican civilizations would all carefully build their cities and ceremonial centers according to specific astronomical events.

At different points in time, three different Mexican cities were the largest cities in the world: Teotihuacan, Tenochtitlan, and Cholula. These cities, among several others, blossomed as centers of commerce, ideas, ceremonies, and theology. In turn, they radiated influence outwards onto neighboring cultures.

Mayan architecture at Uxmal An image of one of the pyramids in the upper level of Yaxchilán Atlantes at Tula, Hidalgo

While many city-states, kingdoms, and empires competed with one another for power and prestige, Mexico had four major, unifying civilizations: The Olmec, Teotihuacan, Toltec, and the Aztec. These four civilizations extended their reach across Mexico and beyond like no others. They consolidated power and distributed influence in matters of trade, art, politics, technology, and theology. Other regional power players made economic and political alliances with these four civilizations over the span of 4,000 years. Many made war with them, but almost all found themselves within these four spheres of influence.

Latecomers to Mexico's central plateau, the Mexica, or Aztec, as they were sometimes called in memory of Aztlán, the starting point of their tribes wanderings, never thought of themselves as anything but heirs of the brilliant civilizations that had preceded them. For them, highly-civilized arts, sculpture, architecture, engraving, feather-mosiac work, and the invention of the calendar were due to the former inhabitants of Tula, the Toltecs, who reached the height of their civilization in the tenth and eleventh centuries.

The Mexica, one of the Aztec groups, were the first people in the world to practice mandatory education for all people, regardless of gender, rank, or station. There were two types of schools: the telpochcalli, for practical and military studies, and the calmecac, for advanced learning in writing, astronomy, statesmanship, theology, and other areas.

The Aztecs' religious beliefs were based on a fear that the universe would cease functioning without a constant offering of human sacrifice. This belief was common throughout nahuatl people. As a result, Aztec warfare was conducted with an aim to only injure the enemy, so that he could later be sacrificed, and weapons were constructed with this in mind. This penchant for human sacrifice proved to be the undoing of the Aztecs, for when they confronted the Spaniards, who fought to the death, their less effective weapons made resistance difficult. In order to acquire captives in time of peace, the Aztec resorted to ritual warfare, or flower war. Tlaxcalteca and other nahuatl nations were forced into such wars, so they joined the Spaniard forces against the Aztec. The small Spanish force was reinforced with thousands of indian allies, who were schooled on European warfare.

The Spanish Era

The arrival of the Spanish in the early 16th century and their defeat of the Mexica in 1521 marked the beginning of the 300 year-long colonial period of Mexico as New Spain. After the fall of Tenochtitlan, it would take decades of continuous war to pacify Mesoamerica. Particularly fierce were the "Chichimeca wars" in the north of Mexico (1576-1606).

The colonists brought with them the Catholic faith, to which the population seemingly converted rapidly, but soon they found that the natives had adopted "the god of the heavens", as they called it, as just one of their gods. While it was an important god, because it was the god of the conquerors,they did not see why they had to abandon their old beliefs. As a result, a second wave of missionaries began a process attempting to completely erase the old beliefs, and thus wiped out many aspects of Mesoamerican culture. Hundreds of thousands of codices were destroyed, priests and teachers were persecuted, and the temples and statues of the gods were destroyed. The Mesoamerican sex education system was set aside and replaced by church education; even some foods associated with religion, like amaranto, were forbidden. Eventually, the natives were declared minors, and forbidden to read and write, so they would always need a white man in charge of them to be responsible of their indoctrination. Although officially they could not become slaves, the system, known as encomienda, came to signify the oppression and exploitation of natives, although its originators did not set out with such intent. Due to some horrifying instances of abuse against the indigenous peoples, Bishop Bartolome de las Casas suggested bringing black slaves to replace them. Bartolome later repented when he saw the treatment given to the black slaves.

Unlike the English-speaking colonists of North America, the majority of the Spanish colonists married the natives, and were even encouraged to do so by Queen Isabella during the earliest days of colonization. The first Spanish colonists were mainly only males, so they took native women, and although rarely, also black women. After the native population was decimated by epidemics and forced labor, black slaves were imported, and for a time in certain areas they even outnumbered the white populations (few modern Mexicans are aware of or acknowledge this). However, they eventually mixed with the population resulting in only a few black communities left to date (see Afro-Mexican). As a result of these unions, as well as concubinage, a vast class of people known as "Mestizos" and mulattos came into being. But even if mixes were allowed, the white population tried to keep their status. A system was created to keep each mix in a different social level: "El sistema de castas" (the caste system). Each different mix had a name and different privileges or prohibitions. There were even two different kinds of whites, those born in Spain, or "peninsulares", and in a lower level, those born in America, or "criollos". Mestizos and then mulattos were next, followed by the unmixed natives, zambos (amerindian mixed with black), and blacks, respectively. The Spanish "peninsulares" tried by all means to keep their status, even if they took native women. Those who were wealthy enough also tried to have a Spanish wife, who was sent to give birth in Spain to prevent their children from becoming criollos. Mestizos and criollos were not allowed in the upper levels of the government, and eventually they joined forces for the independence of México. With independence, the caste system and slavery were abolished.

Mestizos, while they no longer have a separate legal status from other groups, comprise approximately 60% of the population. In modern México, mestizo has became more a cultural term, since a Native American that abandons his traditional ways is considered a mestizo, also most Afromexicans prefer to be considered mestizo, since they feel more identified with this group.

During the following centuries, under Spanish rule, a new culture developed that combined the customs and traditions of the indigenous peoples with that of Catholic Spain. Numerous churches and other buildings were constructed in the Spanish style, and cities were named after various saints and objects of veneration, such as "San Luis Potosí" (after St. Louis) and "Vera Cruz" ("True Cross").

Spanish settlers brought with them smallpox, typhus, and other diseases. Most of the settlers had developed an immunity from childhood, but the indigenous peoples had not. There were three separate epidemics that decimated the population: Smallpox (1520-1521), measles ( 1545-1548) and typhus (1576-1581). Of the estimated 15 to 20 million of the original prehispanic population, less than two million survived. At the end of the 16th century, New Spain was an underpopulated country with abandoned cities, which would be the main cause of collapse of the Mesoamerican cultures.

Mexican Independence

Map of Mexico, 1847

On September 16, 1810, independence from Spain was declared by Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Catholic priest in the small town of Dolores, causing a long war that eventually led to the official recognition of independence from Spain in 1821 and the creation of the First Mexican Empire. Actually, Hidalgo declared the independence from France, as José Bonaparte (Napoleon's brother), also known in Mexico as Pepe Botella (Spanish: Bottle Joe, as he had a fame of a heavy drinker), was ruling Spain at that time. The initial intention of the movement then, was to be obtain independence from France, but still being part of Spain. Then, as the war escalated, the objective change to independece from Spain.

After independence, Spanish possessions in Central America which also proclaimed independence were all incorporated into Mexico from 1822 to 1823, with the exception of Chiapas.

Soon after achieving its independence from Spain, the Mexican government, in an effort to populate its sparsely-settled hinterlands, awarded land grants in a remote area of the northernmost state of Coahuila y Tejas to hundreds of immigrant families from the United States, on the condition that the settlers convert to Catholicism and assume Mexican citizenship. It also forbade the importation of slaves, a condition that, like the others, was largely ignored.

The Empire soon fell to rogue republican forces led by Antonio López de Santa Anna. The first Republic was formed with Guadalupe Victoria as its first president, followed in office by Santa Anna. As president, in 1834 Santa Anna abrogated the federal constitution, causing insurgencies in the southern state of Yucatán and the northernmost portion of the northern state of Coahuila y Tejas. Both areas sought independence from the Mexican government. While negotiations eventually brought Yucatán to again recognize Mexican sovereignty, Santa Anna's army turned to the northern rebellion. The inhabitants of Tejas, calling themselves Texans and led mainly by relatively recently-arrived English-speaking settlers, declared independence from Mexico at Washington-on-the-Brazos, giving birth to the Republic of Texas. Texas won its independence in 1836, further reducing the territory of the fledgling republic. In 1845, voters in Texas approved to be annexed by the United States, and was passed by Congress and signed into law by President John Tyler.

The US government sent troops to Texas in order to secure the territory ignoring the Mexican demands of withdrawal. Mexico saw this as an US intervention on internal affairs by supporting a rebel province. Mexican troops then attacked and captured one of the American detachments near the Rio Grande. President James K. Polk requested a declaration of war and the US Congress voted in favor on 13 May 1846. Mexico declared war on 23 May. This resulted in the Mexican-American War from 1846 to 1848. Mexico was defeated by the United States, resulting in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo, where the United States purchased the remaining disputed territories for $15 million, from which were formed the modern states of California, Nevada, and Utah, and most of Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado (see Mexican-American War).

In the 1860s, the country again suffered a military occupation, this time by France, seeking to establish the Habsburg Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian of Austria as Emperor of Mexico, with support from the Roman Catholic clergy and conservative criolloss. The Second Mexican Empire was then overthrown by President Benito Juárez, with diplomatic and logistical support from the United States and the military expertise of General Porfirio Díaz. General Ignacio Zaragoza defeated the French Army (arguably the most powerful in the world at the time) at the city of Puebla on May 5, 1862, celebrated as Cinco de Mayo ever since. However, after his death, the city was lost in early 1863, following a renewed French attack which penetrated as far as Mexico City, forcing Juárez to organize an itinerant government.

Benito Juarez, important figure of Mexican history

Napoleon III of France, Emperor of France, returned Maximillian as Emperor of Mexico from 1864 to 1867. In mid-1867, following repeated losses in battle to the Republican Army, Maximilian was captured and murdered by Juárez's soldiers, along with his last loyal generals, in Querétaro. From then on, Juárez remained in office until his death in 1872.

After Juárez's death, Mexico experienced economic growth under the liberal and pro-European rule of Porfirio Díaz. Foreign investment allowed the development of the oil industry and the construction of a railroad system across the country. This period of relative peace and prosperity is known as the "Porfiriato". His mandate, however, was mostly undemocratic and benefited the middle and upper classes, while the Amerindian indigenous population continued to live in precarious conditions. Growing social inequalities, restricted freedom of the press, and his insistence to be reelected for a fifth term led to massive protests. His fraudulent victory in the 1910 elections sparked the Mexican Revolution. Revolutionary forces defeated the federal army, but were left with internal struggles, leaving the country in conflict for two more decades. The creation of the National Revolutionary Party (which later became the Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI), in 1929 ended the struggles, uniting all generals and combatants of the revolution.

During the next four decades, Mexico experienced impressive economic growth, and historians call this period "El Milagro Mexicano", the Mexican Miracle. This was in spite of falling foreign confidence in investment, first through the assumption of mineral rights and subsequent nationalisation of the oil industry into Pemex during the presidency of Lázaro Cárdenas del Río. However the management of the economy collapsed several times afterwards. Accused many times of fraud, the PRI's candidates held almost all public offices until the end of the 20th century. It was not until the 1980s that the PRI lost the first state governorship, an event that marked the beginning of the party's loss of hegemony. Through the electoral reforms started by president Carlos Salinas de Gortari and consolidated by president Ernesto Zedillo, by the mid 1990s the PRI had lost its majority in Congress. In 2000, after seventy years, the PRI lost a presidential elections to a candidate of the National Action Party (PAN), Vicente Fox.

On January 1, 1994, Mexico became a full member of the North American Free Trade Agreement, joining the United States of America and Canada in a large and prosperous economic bloc. On March 23, 2005, the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America was signed by the elected leaders of those countries.

Government and politics

Vicente Fox is the current president of Mexico

Mexico’s political model has much in common with that of the United States. The 1917 Constitution provides for a federal republic with powers separated into independent executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Historically, the executive is the dominant branch, with power vested in the [[President of Mexico|president who promulgates and executes the laws of the Congress. Congress has played an increasingly important role since 1997, when opposition parties first formed a majority in the legislature. The president also legislates by executive decree in certain economic and financial fields, using powers delegated from Congress. The president is elected by universal adult suffrage for a six-year term and may not hold office a second time. There is no vice-president in the republic.

After it was founded in 1929, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) monopolized all the political branches. The PRI did not lose a senate seat until 1988 or a gubernatorial race until 1989.[1] It wasn't until July 2, 2000, that Vicente Fox of the opposition "Alliance for Change" coalition, headed by the National Action Party (PAN), was elected president. Fox began his six-year term on December 1, 2000. His victory ended the Institutional Revolutionary Party's 71-year hold on the presidency.

The three most important political parties in Mexico are the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), the National Action Party (PAN), and the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD).

Political divisions

Mexico is divided into 31 states (estados) and a federal district. Each state has its own constitution and its citizens elect a governor as well as representatives to their respective state congresses.

States of Mexico (excluding the islands)


The Federal District is a special political division in Mexico, where the national capital, Mexico City, is located. It enjoys more limited local rule than the nation's "free and sovereign states": only since 1997 have its citizens been able to elect a Head of Government, whose powers are still more curtailed than those of a state governor. Much of the capital city's metropolitan area overflows the limits of the Federal District.

Major cities

The following is a list of the biggest Metropolitan Areas of Mexico in order of population:

  1. Mexico City, Distrito Federal (22.0 million)
  2. Guadalajara, Jalisco (4.7 million)
  3. Monterrey, Nuevo León (3.6 million)
  4. Puebla, Puebla (2.6 million)
  5. Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua (1.8 million)
  6. Tijuana, Baja California (1.5 million)
  7. León, Guanajuato (1.2 million)
  8. Toluca, México (1.2 million)
  9. Torreón, Coahuila (1.1 million)
  10. San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí (0.8 million)
  11. Mérida, Yucatán (0.8 million)
  12. Santiago de Querétaro, Querétaro (0.8 million)
  13. Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes (0.7 million)
  14. Cuernavaca, Morelos (0.7 million)
  15. Chihuahua, Chihuahua (0.7 million)

Geography

Copper Canyon in the state of Chihuahua Mexico's topography

Main article: Geography of Mexico

Situated in the southwestern part of mainland North America and roughly triangular in shape, Mexico stretches more than 3000 km from northwest to southeast. Its width is varied, from more than 2000 km in the north and less than 220 km at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in the south.

Mexico is bordered by the United States to the north, and Belize and Guatemala to the southeast. Baja California in the west is a 1,250-km peninsula and forms the Gulf of California. In the east are the Gulf of Mexico and the Bay of Campeche, which is formed by Mexico's other peninsula, the Yucatán. The center of Mexico is a great, high plateau, open to the north, with mountain chains on the east and west and with ocean-front lowlands lying outside of them. (See list of mountains in Mexico). Mexico is about one-fourth the size of the United States.

The terrain and climate vary from rocky deserts in the north to tropical rain forest in the south. Mexico's major rivers include the Río Bravo del Norte (Rio Grande) and the Usumacinta on its northern and southern borders, respectively, together with the Grijalva, Balsas, Pánuco, and Yaqui in the interior.

On September 19, 1985, an earthquake measuring approximately 8.0 on the Richter scale struck Michoacán and inflicted severe damage on Mexico City. Estimates of the number of dead range from 6,500 to 30,000 (see 1985 Mexico City earthquake).

Economy

The Angel of Independence monument in the heart of Mexico City.


According to the World Bank, Mexico ranks 12th in the world in regard to GDP and has the highest per capita income in its region; and it is firmly established as an upper middle-income country. Since the economic crisis of 1994–1995 the country has made an impressive economic recovery. According to the director for Colombia and Mexico of the World Bank, the population below the poverty level has decreased from 24.2% to 17.6% in the general population and from 42% to 27.9% in rural areas from 2000-2004 [2].

Mexico has a free-market economy with a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. The number of state-owned enterprises in Mexico has fallen from more than 1,000 in 1982 to fewer than 200 in 1999. The administration of President Ernesto Zedillo (1994–2000) continued a policy of privatizing and expanding competition in sea ports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity, natural gas distribution, and airports which was initiated by his predecessors Miguel de la Madrid and Carlos Salinas.

A strong export sector helped to cushion the economy's decline in 1995 and led the recovery in 1996–1999. Private consumption became the leading driver of growth, accompanied by increased employment and higher wages. Mexico still needs to overcome many structural problems as it strives to modernize its economy and raise living standards. Income distribution is very unequal, with the top 20% of income earners accounting for 55% of income.

Following 6.9% growth in 2000, real GDP fell 0.3% in 2001, with the United States' economic slowdown appearing to be the principal cause. Positive developments in 2001 included a drop in inflation to 6.5%, a sharp fall in interest rates, and a strong peso that appreciated 5% against the U.S. dollar. Trade with the United States and Canada has tripled since NAFTA was implemented in 1994.

Mexico has opened its markets to free trade like few other countries have done, lowering its trade barriers with more than 40 countries in 12 Free Trade Agreements, including Japan and the European Union. However more than 85% of the trade is still done with the United States. Government authorities expect that by putting more than 90% of trade under free trade agreements with different countries Mexico will lessen its dependence on the United States. The government is seeking to sign an additional agreement with Mercosur.

Demographics

Beach in Cancún, Quintana Roo Zócalo, Oaxaca de Juárez Indigenous Mexicans on a Chiapas street

Main article: Demographics of Mexico
See also: Indigenous peoples of Mexico

With an estimated 2005 population of about 106.5 million, Mexico is the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world.

Mexico is ethnically and culturally diverse. According to the CIA World Factbook, about 60% of the population is mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white), another 30% is Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian. Some 9% is white (of European descent), the majority being from Spain, though there are also large numbers of people of German, Italian, French, Portuguese, British, Irish, Russian (Molokans), Dutch, Greek, and Scandinavian (particularly in Nueva Escandinavia, Chihuahua) ancestry. The remaining 1% includes Afro-Mexicans, Asians, Jews, and Middle Easterners. Mexico is also home for many other Latin American groups: mostly Argentines, but also Brazilians, Cubans, Nicaraguans, Colombians and Venezuelans. The PRI governments in power for most of the 20th century had a policy of granting asylum to fellow Latin Americans fleeing political persecution in their home countries. Mexico has a sizeable population of Asians numbering around 200,000, many of them Chinese and Japanese, the majority of which reside in Mexicali, Baja California. There are also a few Lebanese and Arabs. In Mexico the biggest foreign colonies are:

  1. Spanish
  2. German, Italian and French
  3. Argentinean
  4. American and Canadian
  5. East Asian
  6. Jewish
  7. Central American and South American
  8. Arab and Lebanese
  9. British, Irish, Dutch and Russian
  10. African

According to the Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas ("The National Council for the Development of Indigenous People") the Amerindian population in Mexico is approximately 12.7 million. However, the Mexican government does not collect racial information during censuses. In 2004, the National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Informatic had estimated this figure to be 12,089,094 (~11.4% of Mexico's population) of indigenous people of which, more than one million do not speak Spanish and almost five million are bilingual (INEGI, 2004).

Judging by the proportion of people speaking indigenous languages, the states with the highest proportion of indigenous people are Yucatán (37.3%), Oaxaca (37.1%), Chiapas (24.6%) and Quintana Roo (23%). The states of Aguascalientes (0.2%), Coahuila (0.2%), Zacatecas (0.2%) and Nuevo León (0.5%) have the lowest proportion of speakers of indigenous languages ([INEGI, 2004]).

Mexico is the country where the greatest number of U.S citizens live outside the United States. This may be due to the growing economic and business interdependence of the two countries under NAFTA, and also that Mexico is considered an excellent choice for retirees. A clear example of the latter phenomenon is provided by San Miguel de Allende and many towns along the Baja California peninsula and around Guadalajara, Jalisco. The official figures for foreign-born citizens in Mexico are 493,000 (since 2004), with a majority (86.9%) of these born in the United States (with the exception of Chiapas, where the majority of immigrants are from Central America). The five states with more immigrants are Baja California (12.1% of total immigrants), Federal District (11.4%), Jalisco (9.9%), Chihuahua (9%) and Tamaulipas (7.3%). More than 54.6% of the immigrant population are 15 years old or younger, while 9% are 50 or older. 4.2% of male immigrants and 3.8% of female immigrants did not have formal education while 20.2% of male immigrants and 17.7% of female immigrants had a college degree [INEGI, 2004.

Life expectancy in Mexico increased from 34.7 for men and 33 years for women in 1930 to 72.1 for men and 77.1 years for women in 2002. The states with the highest life expectancy are Baja California (75.9 years) and Nuevo Leon (75.6 years). The Federal District has a life expectancy of the same level as Baja California. The lowest levels are found in Chiapas (72.9), Oaxaca (73.2) and Guerrero (73.2 years), although the first two have had the highest increase (19.9 and 22.3% respectively).

The mortality rate in 1970 was 9.7/1000 people and by 2001 the rate had dropped to 4.9/1000 for men and 3.8/1000 for women. The most common reasons for death in 2001 were heart problems (14.6% for men 17.6% for women) and Cancer (11% for men and 15.8% for women).

Religion

Basílica de la Soledad, Oaxaca, Oaxaca

Mexico is predominantly Roman Catholic (about 89% of the population). It is the second nation with the largest Catholic population, behind Brazil and before the United States. Also, 6% of the population adheres to various Protestant faiths (mostly Pentecostal), and the remaining 5% of the population adhering to other religions or professing no religion. Some of the country's Catholics (notably those of indigenous background) syncretize Catholicism with various elements of Aztec or Mayan religions. The Virgin of Guadalupe has long been a symbol enshrining the major aspirations of Mexican society. According to anthropologist Eric R. Wolf, the Guadalupe symbol links family, politics, and religion; the colonial past and the independent present; and the Indian and the Mexican. [3]

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) has a growing presence in the major border cities of northeastern Mexico, and over 205,000 members nationwide[1]. Judaism has been practiced in Mexico for centuries, and there are estimated to be more than 45,000 Jews in Mexico today[2]. Islam is mainly practiced by members of the Arab, Turkish, and other expatriate communities, though there is a very small number of the indigenous population in Chiapas state that practice Islam.

Languages

Main article: Languages of Mexico

A stucco relief in the Palenque museum, Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico

Spanish is the official language of Mexico and is spoken by the majority of the population. About 7% of the population speak an Amerindian language. The government officially recognizes 62 Amerindian languages. Of these Nahuatl, and Maya are each spoken by 1.5 million, while others, such as Lacandon, are spoken by fewer than 100. The Mexican government has promoted and established bilingual education programs in indigenous rural communities.

Although Spanish is the official language of Mexico, English is widely used in business. As a result, English language skills are much in demand and can lead to an increase in the salary offered by a company. It is also spoken along the U.S. border, in big cities, and in beach resorts. Also, the majority of private schools in Mexico offer what they like to describe as "bilingual" education, both in Spanish and English. English is the main language spoken in U.S. expatriate communities such as those along the coast of Baja California and the town of San Miguel de Allende. There are also Mennonite colonies in Chihuahua where education is delivered in English.

With respect to other European languages brought by immigrants, the case of Chipilo, in the state of Puebla, is unique, and has been documented by several linguists like Carolyn McKay. The immigrants that founded the city of Chipilo in 1882 came from the Veneto region in northern Italy, and thus spoke a northern variant of the Venetian dialect. While other European immigrants assimilated into the Mexican culture, the people of Chipilo retained their language. Nowadays, most of the people who live in the city of Chipilo (and many of those who have migrated to other cities) still speak the unaltered Veneto dialect spoken by their great-grandparents making the Veneto dialect an unrecognized minority language in the city of Puebla. In Huatusco and Colonia Gonzalez, Veracruz, Veneto is still heard too. A similar case is that of the Plautdietsch language, spoken by the descendants of German and Dutch Mennonite immigrants in the states of Chihuahua and Durango. Other German communities lie in Puebla, Mexico City, Sinaloa and Chiapas, with the largest German school outside of Germany being in Mexico City (Alexander von Humboldt school), these represent the large German populations where they still try to preserve the German culture and language. Other strong German communities lie in Sinaloa (Mazatlan), Nuevo Leon, Chiapas (Tapachula) and other parts of Puebla (Nueva Necaxa) where the german culture and language have been preserved to different extents. French is also heard in Veracruz, Jicaltepec, San Rafael and Mentideros, where the architecture and food is also very French. These French immigrants came from Haute-Saône département in France, especially from Champittle and Borgonge. Another important French group were the "Barcelonettes" from the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence département, whom interestingly the whole town and surrounding towns immigrated specifically to Mexico to find jobs and work in merchendising, they are very notorious in Mexico City, Puebla, and Veracruz. Another important French village in Mexico is Santa Rosalía in Baja California Sur, where French language and culture/architecture are still found. Scandinavian languages and traditions can also be heard in Chihuahua, like Swedish and Norwegian in Nueva Escandinavia and other Scandinavian colonies in the north of the country.

Education

Mexico has made impressive improvements in education in the last two decades. In 2004, the literacy rate was at 92%, and the youth literacy rate (ages 15-24) was 96%. Primary and secondary education (9 years) is free and mandatory. Even though different bilingual education programs have existed since the 1960s for the indigenous communities, after a constitution reform in the late 1990s, these programs have had a new thrust, and free text books are produced in more than a dozen indigenous languages.

In the 1970's, Mexico became the first country to establish a system of "distance-learning" satellite secondary education, aimed for the little towns and rural communities. In 2005 this system included 30,000 connected schools, 3 million students and 300,000 teachers, who use televised lectures and education science programs, pre-recorded and transmitted through "EduSat", via satellite. Schools that use this system are known as telesecundarias in Mexico. The Mexican distance learning secondary education is also transmitted to some Central American countries and to Colombia, and it is used in some southern regions of the United States as a method of bilingual education.

The name

Mexico is named after its capital city, whose name comes from the Aztec city Mexico-Tenochtitlan that preceded it. The Mexi part of the name is from Mexitli, the war god, whose name was derived from metztli (the moon) and xictli (navel) and thus meant "navel (probably implying 'child') of the moon". So, Mexico is the home of the people of Mexitli (the Mexicas), co meaning "place" and ca meaning "people".

When the Spaniards encountered this people and transcribed their language, they naturally did so according to the spelling rules of the Castilian language of the time. The Nahuatl language had a /ʃ/ sound (like English "shop"), and this sound was written x in Spanish (e.g. Ximénez); consequently, the letter x was used to write down words like Mexitli. Meanwhile, the letter j (or, rather, the letter i when used as a consonant, since j had not been invented yet) was used for the /ʒ/ sound (as in "vision"), as was g before e or i. These old pronunciations of j and x are still found in Portuguese and Ladino.

Over the centuries, the pronunciation of Spanish changed. Words like Ximénez, exercicio, xabón and perplexo started to be pronounced with a /x/ (this phonetic symbol represents the sound in the word "loch"). The /ʒ/ sound also started to be pronounced this way. The coalescence of the two phonemes into a single new one encouraged scholars to use the same letter for the sound, regardless of its origin (Spanish scholars have always tried to keep the orthography of their language faithful to the spoken tongue). It was j/g that was chosen. So, modern Spanish has ejercicio, ejército, jabón, perplejo, etc. (Another example is the old spelling of Don Quixote which is now Don Quijote. The old pronunciation is maintained in French "Quichotte", and the English word "quixotic" maintains the spelling while pronouncing it with its English value.)

Proper nouns and their derivatives are optionally allowed to break this rule. Thus, although xabón is now incorrect and archaic, alongside many millions of people called "Jiménez", there also are plenty called "Giménez" or "Ximénez" — a matter of personal choice and tradition.

In Mexico, it has become almost a matter of national pride to maintain the otherwise archaic x spelling in the name of the country. It is regarded as more authentic and less jarring to the reader's eye. Mexicans have tended to demand that other Spanish-speakers use this spelling, rather than following the general rule, and the demand has largely been respected. The Real Academia Española states that both spellings are correct, and most dictionaries and guides recommend México first, and present Méjico as a variant. Today, even outside of the country, México is preferred over Méjico by ratios ranging from 10-to-1 (in Spain) to about 280-to-1 (in Costa Rica). Also, in the placenames "Oaxaca" and "Xalapa", the x is pronounced as /x/; in "Xochimilco", however, it sounds as a /ʃ/.

A cultural side-effect of the fact that Mexicans use México /'mexiko/ and Spaniards sometimes use Méjico is the occasional boiling-over of negative sentiment towards the old colonial oppressor. The mere act of using the j spelling is interpreted by some as a form of colonial aggression. On the other hand, some Peninsular scholars (such as Ramón Menéndez Pidal) prefer to apply the general spelling rule, arguing that the spelling with an x could encourage non-Mexicans to mispronounce México as /'meksiko/ (as is generally the case in the English-speaking world). Méjico on the other hand could easily be mispronounced as well, because the letter j stands for /ʒ/, /dʒ/ or /j/ in other languages.

In the Nahuatl language, from which the name originally derived, the name for Mexico is Mēxihco (International Phonetic Alphabet /meː.ɕiʔ.ko/).

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. In the Nahuatl language, from which the name originally derived, the name for Mexico is Mēxihco (International Phonetic Alphabet /meː.ɕiʔ.ko/).
. Méjico on the other hand could easily be mispronounced as well, because the letter j stands for /ʒ/, /dʒ/ or /j/ in other languages. (For a comprehensive catalogue of his works visit the On-Line Picasso Project). On the other hand, some Peninsular scholars (such as Ramón Menéndez Pidal) prefer to apply the general spelling rule, arguing that the spelling with an x could encourage non-Mexicans to mispronounce México as /'meksiko/ (as is generally the case in the English-speaking world). On May 4, 2004 Picasso's painting Garçon à la pipe was sold for USD $104 million at Sotheby's, thus establishing a new price record (see also List of most expensive paintings).

The mere act of using the j spelling is interpreted by some as a form of colonial aggression. Several paintings by Picasso rank among the most expensive paintings in the world. A cultural side-effect of the fact that Mexicans use México /'mexiko/ and Spaniards sometimes use Méjico is the occasional boiling-over of negative sentiment towards the old colonial oppressor. In 1999, Picasso's Les Noces (The Marriage of Pierrette) sold for more than USD $51 million. Also, in the placenames "Oaxaca" and "Xalapa", the x is pronounced as /x/; in "Xochimilco", however, it sounds as a /ʃ/. Anthony Hopkins played Picasso in the movie. Today, even outside of the country, México is preferred over Méjico by ratios ranging from 10-to-1 (in Spain) to about 280-to-1 (in Costa Rica). The film Surviving Picasso was made about Picasso in 1996, as seen through the eyes of Françoise Gilot.

The Real Academia Española states that both spellings are correct, and most dictionaries and guides recommend México first, and present Méjico as a variant. In 2003, relatives of Picasso inaugurated a museum dedicated to him in his birthplace, Málaga, Spain, the Museo Picasso Málaga. Mexicans have tended to demand that other Spanish-speakers use this spelling, rather than following the general rule, and the demand has largely been respected. These works form the core of the immense and representative collection of the Musée Picasso in Paris. It is regarded as more authentic and less jarring to the reader's eye. Since Picasso left no will, his death duties, or estate tax to the French state, were paid in the form of his works and others from his collection. In Mexico, it has become almost a matter of national pride to maintain the otherwise archaic x spelling in the name of the country. In addition, Picasso had a considerable collection of the work of other famous artists, some his contemporaries, such as Henri Matisse, with whom he had exchanged works.

Thus, although xabón is now incorrect and archaic, alongside many millions of people called "Jiménez", there also are plenty called "Giménez" or "Ximénez" — a matter of personal choice and tradition. At the time of his death, he had many paintings, as he had kept off the art market what he didn't need to sell. Proper nouns and their derivatives are optionally allowed to break this rule. His final words were "drink to me". The old pronunciation is maintained in French "Quichotte", and the English word "quixotic" maintains the spelling while pronouncing it with its English value.). Jacqueline Roque prevented his children Claude and Paloma from attending the funeral. (Another example is the old spelling of Don Quixote which is now Don Quijote. Pablo Picasso died on April 8, 1973, and was interred at Castle Vauvenargues' park, in Vauvenargues, Bouches-du-Rhône.

So, modern Spanish has ejercicio, ejército, jabón, perplejo, etc. Only later, after Picasso's death, when the rest of the art world had moved on from abstract expressionism, did the critical community come to see that Picasso had already discovered neo-expressionism and was, as usual, ahead of his time. It was j/g that was chosen. One long time admirer, Douglas Cooper, called them "the incoherent scribblings of a frenetic old man". The coalescence of the two phonemes into a single new one encouraged scholars to use the same letter for the sound, regardless of its origin (Spanish scholars have always tried to keep the orthography of their language faithful to the spoken tongue). At the time these works were dismissed by most as pornographic fantasies of an impotent old man or the slapdash works of an artist who was past his prime. The /ʒ/ sound also started to be pronounced this way. Devoting his full energies to his work, Picasso became more daring, his works more colourful and expressive, and from 1968 through 1971 he produced a torrent of paintings and hundreds of copperplate engravings.

Words like Ximénez, exercicio, xabón and perplexo started to be pronounced with a /x/ (this phonetic symbol represents the sound in the word "loch"). Picasso's final works were a mixture of styles, his styles and periods changing right until the end of his life. Over the centuries, the pronunciation of Spanish changed. To a man for whom this was such an important part of life, this was a serious life change and Picasso seems to have dealt with it by redoubling his already prolific artistic output. These old pronunciations of j and x are still found in Portuguese and Ladino. In his 80s and 90s, Picasso, no longer quite the energetic dynamo he had been in his youth, became more and more impotent. Meanwhile, the letter j (or, rather, the letter i when used as a consonant, since j had not been invented yet) was used for the /ʒ/ sound (as in "vision"), as was g before e or i. Picasso refused to be paid $100,000 for it, donating it to the people of Chicago.

Ximénez); consequently, the letter x was used to write down words like Mexitli. The sculpture, one of the most recognizable landmarks of downtown Chicago was unveiled in 1967. The Nahuatl language had a /ʃ/ sound (like English "shop"), and this sound was written x in Spanish (e.g. What the figure is exactly is not known; it could be a bird, a horse, a woman or a totally abstract shape. When the Spaniards encountered this people and transcribed their language, they naturally did so according to the spelling rules of the Castilian language of the time. He approached the project with a great deal of enthusiasm, designing a sculpture which was ambiguous and became somewhat controversial. So, Mexico is the home of the people of Mexitli (the Mexicas), co meaning "place" and ca meaning "people". He was commissioned to make a maquette for a huge 50 foot high sculpture to be built in Chicago, Illinois, known usually as the Chicago Picasso.

The Mexi part of the name is from Mexitli, the war god, whose name was derived from metztli (the moon) and xictli (navel) and thus meant "navel (probably implying 'child') of the moon". The media would give him much attention, though they were often more interested in his personal life than his art. Mexico is named after its capital city, whose name comes from the Aztec city Mexico-Tenochtitlan that preceded it. Picasso had constructed a huge gothic structure and could afford large villas in the south of France, at Notre-dame-de-vie on the outskirts of Mougins, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. The Mexican distance learning secondary education is also transmitted to some Central American countries and to Colombia, and it is used in some southern regions of the United States as a method of bilingual education. During this time he lived at Cannes and in 1955 helped make the film Le Mystère Picasso (The Mystery of Picasso) directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot. Schools that use this system are known as telesecundarias in Mexico. He also based paintings on works on art by Goya, Poussin, Manet, Courbet and Delacroix.

In 2005 this system included 30,000 connected schools, 3 million students and 300,000 teachers, who use televised lectures and education science programs, pre-recorded and transmitted through "EduSat", via satellite. He made a series of works based on Velazquez's painting of Las Meninas. In the 1970's, Mexico became the first country to establish a system of "distance-learning" satellite secondary education, aimed for the little towns and rural communities. In the 1950s his style changed once again as he began looking at the art of the great masters, and making new art about it. Even though different bilingual education programs have existed since the 1960s for the indigenous communities, after a constitution reform in the late 1990s, these programs have had a new thrust, and free text books are produced in more than a dozen indigenous languages. Picasso always played himself in his film appearances. Primary and secondary education (9 years) is free and mandatory. In addition to his manifold artistic accomplishments, Picasso had a film career, including a cameo appearance in Jean Cocteau's Testament of Orpheus.

In 2004, the literacy rate was at 92%, and the youth literacy rate (ages 15-24) was 96%. Picasso then secretly married Roque after Gilot had filed for divorce in order to exact his revenge for her leaving him. Mexico has made impressive improvements in education in the last two decades. With Picasso's encouragement, she had arranged to divorce her then husband, Luc Simon, and marry Picasso to secure her children's rights. Scandinavian languages and traditions can also be heard in Chihuahua, like Swedish and Norwegian in Nueva Escandinavia and other Scandinavian colonies in the north of the country. Gilot had been seeking a legal means to legitimize her children with Picasso, Claude and Paloma. Another important French village in Mexico is Santa Rosalía in Baja California Sur, where French language and culture/architecture are still found. Their marriage was also the means of one last act of revenge against Gilot.

Another important French group were the "Barcelonettes" from the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence département, whom interestingly the whole town and surrounding towns immigrated specifically to Mexico to find jobs and work in merchendising, they are very notorious in Mexico City, Puebla, and Veracruz. The two remained together for the rest of Picasso's life, marrying in 1961. These French immigrants came from Haute-Saône département in France, especially from Champittle and Borgonge. Roque worked at the Madoura Pottery, where Picasso made and painted ceramics. French is also heard in Veracruz, Jicaltepec, San Rafael and Mentideros, where the architecture and food is also very French. Picasso was not long in finding another lover, Jacqueline Roque. Other strong German communities lie in Sinaloa (Mazatlan), Nuevo Leon, Chiapas (Tapachula) and other parts of Puebla (Nueva Necaxa) where the german culture and language have been preserved to different extents. A number of ink drawings from this period explore this theme of the hideous old dwarf as buffoonish counterpoint to the beautiful young girl, including several from a six-week affair with Geneviève Laporte, who in June 2005 auctioned off the drawings Picasso made of her.

Other German communities lie in Puebla, Mexico City, Sinaloa and Chiapas, with the largest German school outside of Germany being in Mexico City (Alexander von Humboldt school), these represent the large German populations where they still try to preserve the German culture and language. He went through a difficult period after Gilot's departure, coming to terms with his advancing age and his perception that he was an old man, now in his 70s, who was no longer attractive, but rather grotesque to young women. A similar case is that of the Plautdietsch language, spoken by the descendants of German and Dutch Mennonite immigrants in the states of Chihuahua and Durango. This came as a severe blow to Picasso. In Huatusco and Colonia Gonzalez, Veracruz, Veneto is still heard too. Uniquely among Picasso's women, Gilot left Picasso in 1953, allegedly because of abusive treatment and infidelities. Nowadays, most of the people who live in the city of Chipilo (and many of those who have migrated to other cities) still speak the unaltered Veneto dialect spoken by their great-grandparents making the Veneto dialect an unrecognized minority language in the city of Puebla. The two eventually became lovers, and had two children together, Claude, and Paloma.

While other European immigrants assimilated into the Mexican culture, the people of Chipilo retained their language. After the liberation of Paris in 1944, Picasso began to keep company with a young art student, Françoise Gilot. The immigrants that founded the city of Chipilo in 1882 came from the Veneto region in northern Italy, and thus spoke a northern variant of the Venetian dialect. The two were closest in the late 1930s and early 1940s and it was Maar who documented the painting of Guernica. With respect to other European languages brought by immigrants, the case of Chipilo, in the state of Puebla, is unique, and has been documented by several linguists like Carolyn McKay. The photographer and painter Dora Maar was also a constant companion and lover of Picasso. There are also Mennonite colonies in Chihuahua where education is delivered in English. Marie-Thérèse lived in the vain hope that Picasso would one day marry her and hanged herself four years after Picasso's death.

expatriate communities such as those along the coast of Baja California and the town of San Miguel de Allende. Picasso carried on a long-standing affair with Walter and fathered a daughter, Maia, with her. English is the main language spoken in U.S. The two remained legally married until Khoklova's death in 1955. Also, the majority of private schools in Mexico offer what they like to describe as "bilingual" education, both in Spanish and English. Picasso's marriage to Khoklova soon ended in separation rather than divorce, as French law required an even division of property in the case of divorce and Picasso did not want Khoklova to have half his wealth. border, in big cities, and in beach resorts. In 1927 Picasso met 17 year old Marie-Thérèse Walter and began a secret affair with her.

It is also spoken along the U.S. Khoklova's insistence on social propriety clashed with Picasso's bohemian tendencies and the two lived in a state of constant conflict. As a result, English language skills are much in demand and can lead to an increase in the salary offered by a company. The two had a son, Paulo, who would grow up to be a dissolute motorcycle racer and chauffeur to his father. Although Spanish is the official language of Mexico, English is widely used in business. Khoklova introduced Picasso to high society, formal dinner parties, and all the social niceties attendant on the life of the rich in 1920s Paris. The Mexican government has promoted and established bilingual education programs in indigenous rural communities. In 1918, Picasso married Olga Khoklova, a ballerina with Sergei Diaghilev's troupe, for whom Picasso was designing a ballet, Parade, in Rome.

Of these Nahuatl, and Maya are each spoken by 1.5 million, while others, such as Lacandon, are spoken by fewer than 100. Humbert was diagnosed with cancer and during her rapid deterioration, Picasso administered to her every need, making daily trips across Paris to visit her in the hospital. The government officially recognizes 62 Amerindian languages. Picasso included declarations of his love for Eva in many Cubist works. About 7% of the population speak an Amerindian language. After garnering fame and some fortune, Picasso left Olivier for Marcelle Humbert, whom Picasso called Eva. Spanish is the official language of Mexico and is spoken by the majority of the population. It is she who appears in many of the Rose period paintings.

Main article: Languages of Mexico. In the early years of the twentieth century, Picasso, still a struggling youth, began a long term relationship with Fernande Olivier. Islam is mainly practiced by members of the Arab, Turkish, and other expatriate communities, though there is a very small number of the indigenous population in Chiapas state that practice Islam. Picasso married twice and had four children by three women. Judaism has been practiced in Mexico for centuries, and there are estimated to be more than 45,000 Jews in Mexico today[2]. In Paris, in addition to having a distinguished coterie of friends in the Montmartre and Montparnasse quarters, including André Breton, Guillaume Apollinaire, writer Gertrude Stein and others, he usually maintained a number of mistresses in addition to his wife or primary partner. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) has a growing presence in the major border cities of northeastern Mexico, and over 205,000 members nationwide[1]. Picasso hated to be alone when he wasn't working.

[3]. His beliefs tended towards anarcho-communism. Wolf, the Guadalupe symbol links family, politics, and religion; the colonial past and the independent present; and the Indian and the Mexican. But party criticism of a portrait of Stalin as insufficiently realistic cooled Picasso's interest in Communist politics, though he remained a loyal member of the Communist Party until his death. According to anthropologist Eric R. After the Second World War, Picasso rejoined the French Communist Party, and even attended an international peace conference in Poland. The Virgin of Guadalupe has long been a symbol enshrining the major aspirations of Mexican society. In 1992 the painting hung in the Madrid's Reina Sofía Museum when it opened.

Some of the country's Catholics (notably those of indigenous background) syncretize Catholicism with various elements of Aztec or Mayan religions. In 1981 Guernica was returned to Spain and exhibited at the Casón del Buen Retiro. Also, 6% of the population adheres to various Protestant faiths (mostly Pentecostal), and the remaining 5% of the population adhering to other religions or professing no religion. Guernica hung in New York's Museum of Modern Art for many years. It is the second nation with the largest Catholic population, behind Brazil and before the United States. The act of painting was captured in a series of photographs by Picasso's most famous lover, Dora Maar, a distinguished artist in her own right. Mexico is predominantly Roman Catholic (about 89% of the population). This large canvas embodies for many the inhumanity, brutality and hopelessness of war.

The most common reasons for death in 2001 were heart problems (14.6% for men 17.6% for women) and Cancer (11% for men and 15.8% for women). Arguably Picasso's most famous work is his depiction of the German bombing of Guernica, Spain — Guernica. The mortality rate in 1970 was 9.7/1000 people and by 2001 the rate had dropped to 4.9/1000 for men and 3.8/1000 for women. While the Germans outlawed bronze casting in Paris, Picasso was still able to continue because of the French resistance who would smuggle bronze to him. The lowest levels are found in Chiapas (72.9), Oaxaca (73.2) and Guerrero (73.2 years), although the first two have had the highest increase (19.9 and 22.3% respectively). He retreated into his studio, continuing to paint all the while. The Federal District has a life expectancy of the same level as Baja California. The Nazis hated his style of painting, so he was not able to show his works during this time.

The states with the highest life expectancy are Baja California (75.9 years) and Nuevo Leon (75.6 years). During the Second World War, Picasso resided in Paris when the Germans occupied the city. Life expectancy in Mexico increased from 34.7 for men and 33 years for women in 1930 to 72.1 for men and 77.1 years for women in 2002. No political movement seemed to compel his support to any great degree. 4.2% of male immigrants and 3.8% of female immigrants did not have formal education while 20.2% of male immigrants and 17.7% of female immigrants had a college degree [INEGI, 2004. He also remained aloof from the Catalan independence movement during his youth despite expressing general support and being friendly with activists within it. More than 54.6% of the immigrant population are 15 years old or younger, while 9% are 50 or older. While Picasso expressed anger and condemnation of Franco and the Fascists through his art he did not take up arms against them.

The five states with more immigrants are Baja California (12.1% of total immigrants), Federal District (11.4%), Jalisco (9.9%), Chihuahua (9%) and Tamaulipas (7.3%). In the Spanish Civil War, service for Spaniards living abroad was optional and would have involved a voluntary return to the country to join either side. The official figures for foreign-born citizens in Mexico are 493,000 (since 2004), with a majority (86.9%) of these born in the United States (with the exception of Chiapas, where the majority of immigrants are from Central America). As a Spanish citizen living in France, Picasso was under no compulsion to fight against the invading Germans in either world war. A clear example of the latter phenomenon is provided by San Miguel de Allende and many towns along the Baja California peninsula and around Guadalajara, Jalisco. Some of his contemporaries though (including Braque) felt that this neutrality had more to do with cowardice than principle. This may be due to the growing economic and business interdependence of the two countries under NAFTA, and also that Mexico is considered an excellent choice for retirees. Picasso never commented on this but encouraged the idea that it was because he was a pacifist.

Mexico is the country where the greatest number of U.S citizens live outside the United States. Picasso remained neutral during the Spanish Civil War, World War I and World War II, refusing to fight for any side or country. The states of Aguascalientes (0.2%), Coahuila (0.2%), Zacatecas (0.2%) and Nuevo León (0.5%) have the lowest proportion of speakers of indigenous languages ([INEGI, 2004]). The Guinness Book of Records names Picasso as the most prolific painter ever – In his lifetime, he produced around 13,500 paintings, 100,000 prints and engravings, 34,000 book illustrations and 300 sculptures. Judging by the proportion of people speaking indigenous languages, the states with the highest proportion of indigenous people are Yucatán (37.3%), Oaxaca (37.1%), Chiapas (24.6%) and Quintana Roo (23%). His use of the minotaur came partly from his contact with the surrealists, who often used it as their symbol, and appears in Picasso's Guernica. In 2004, the National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Informatic had estimated this figure to be 12,089,094 (~11.4% of Mexico's population) of indigenous people of which, more than one million do not speak Spanish and almost five million are bilingual (INEGI, 2004). During the 1930s, the minotaur replaced the harlequin as a motif which he used often in his work.

However, the Mexican government does not collect racial information during censuses. A comedic character usually depicted in checkered patterned clothing, the harlequin became a personal symbol for Picasso. According to the Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas ("The National Council for the Development of Indigenous People") the Amerindian population in Mexico is approximately 12.7 million. Picasso used harlequins in many of his early works, especially in his Blue and Rose Periods. In Mexico the biggest foreign colonies are:. There are many precise and detailed figure studies done in his youth under his father's tutelage, as well as rarely seen works from his old age that clearly demonstrate Picasso's firm grounding in classical techniques. There are also a few Lebanese and Arabs. The Museu Picasso in Barcelona features many of Picasso's early works, created while he was living in Spain, as well as the extensive collection of Jaime Sabartés, Picasso's close friend from his Barcelona days who, for many years, was Picasso's personal secretary.

Mexico has a sizeable population of Asians numbering around 200,000, many of them Chinese and Japanese, the majority of which reside in Mexicali, Baja California. Although Picasso attended art schools throughout his childhood, often those where his father taught, he never finished his college-level course of study at the Academy of Arts (Academia de San Fernando) in Madrid, leaving after less than a year. The PRI governments in power for most of the 20th century had a policy of granting asylum to fellow Latin Americans fleeing political persecution in their home countries. It was from his father that Picasso learned the basics of formal academic art training, such as figure drawing and painting in oil. Mexico is also home for many other Latin American groups: mostly Argentines, but also Brazilians, Cubans, Nicaraguans, Colombians and Venezuelans. Picasso's father, José Ruiz y Blasco, was himself a painter, and for most of his life a professor of art at the School of Fine Arts and Crafts and a curator of a local museum. The remaining 1% includes Afro-Mexicans, Asians, Jews, and Middle Easterners. Pablo Diego José Santiago Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno Crispín Crispiniano de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz Picasso was born on October 25, 1881 in Málaga, Spain, the first child of José Ruiz y Blasco and María Picasso y López.

Some 9% is white (of European descent), the majority being from Spain, though there are also large numbers of people of German, Italian, French, Portuguese, British, Irish, Russian (Molokans), Dutch, Greek, and Scandinavian (particularly in Nueva Escandinavia, Chihuahua) ancestry. While the names of many of his later periods are debated, the most commonly accepted periods in his work are: Image:Les Demoiselles d'Avignon.jpg. According to the CIA World Factbook, about 60% of the population is mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white), another 30% is Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian. Picasso's work is often categorized into "periods". Mexico is ethnically and culturally diverse. . With an estimated 2005 population of about 106.5 million, Mexico is the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world. He famously rendered complex scenes as just a few geometric shapes in his mixed-media cubist works, but also produced masterful realist portraits.

Main article: Demographics of Mexico
See also: Indigenous peoples of Mexico. He worked mainly with paint, but had equal facility in oil, watercolour, pastels, charcoal, pencil and ink. The government is seeking to sign an additional agreement with Mercosur. One of the most recognized figures in 20th century art, he is best known as the co-founder, along with Georges Braque, of cubism. Government authorities expect that by putting more than 90% of trade under free trade agreements with different countries Mexico will lessen its dependence on the United States. Pablo Ruiz Picasso (Full name) (October 25, 1881 in Málaga, Spain – April 8, 1973) was a Spanish painter and sculptor. However more than 85% of the trade is still done with the United States. 30 pict (biography).

Mexico has opened its markets to free trade like few other countries have done, lowering its trade barriers with more than 40 countries in 12 Free Trade Agreements, including Japan and the European Union. 173 p. Trade with the United States and Canada has tripled since NAFTA was implemented in 1994. London 2005. dollar. PICASSO, PABLO. Positive developments in 2001 included a drop in inflation to 6.5%, a sharp fall in interest rates, and a strong peso that appreciated 5% against the U.S. Danto.

Following 6.9% growth in 2000, real GDP fell 0.3% in 2001, with the United States' economic slowdown appearing to be the principal cause. by Arthur C. Income distribution is very unequal, with the top 20% of income earners accounting for 55% of income. Introd. Mexico still needs to overcome many structural problems as it strives to modernize its economy and raise living standards. Mary Ann, Caws. Private consumption became the leading driver of growth, accompanied by increased employment and higher wages. ISBN 3-79133-149-3 (biography).

A strong export sector helped to cushion the economy's decline in 1995 and led the recovery in 1996–1999. 320 p. The administration of President Ernesto Zedillo (1994–2000) continued a policy of privatizing and expanding competition in sea ports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity, natural gas distribution, and airports which was initiated by his predecessors Miguel de la Madrid and Carlos Salinas. 2004. The number of state-owned enterprises in Mexico has fallen from more than 1,000 in 1982 to fewer than 200 in 1999. Prestel Publ. Mexico has a free-market economy with a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. PICASSO: The Real Family Story.

According to the director for Colombia and Mexico of the World Bank, the population below the poverty level has decreased from 24.2% to 17.6% in the general population and from 42% to 27.9% in rural areas from 2000-2004 [2]. Olivier Widmaier Picasso (grandson of Picasso (Maya's son)). Since the economic crisis of 1994–1995 the country has made an impressive economic recovery. 2005. According to the World Bank, Mexico ranks 12th in the world in regard to GDP and has the highest per capita income in its region; and it is firmly established as an upper middle-income country. Santiago de Chile: Red Internacional del Libro.
. La Sintaxis de la Carne: Pablo Picasso y Marie-Thérèse Walter.

Estimates of the number of dead range from 6,500 to 30,000 (see 1985 Mexico City earthquake). Mallen, Enrique. On September 19, 1985, an earthquake measuring approximately 8.0 on the Richter scale struck Michoacán and inflicted severe damage on Mexico City. 2003. Mexico's major rivers include the Río Bravo del Norte (Rio Grande) and the Usumacinta on its northern and southern borders, respectively, together with the Grijalva, Balsas, Pánuco, and Yaqui in the interior. Berlin: Peter Lang. The terrain and climate vary from rocky deserts in the north to tropical rain forest in the south. Berkeley Insights in Linguistics & Semiotics Series.

Mexico is about one-fourth the size of the United States. The Visual Grammar of Pablo Picasso. (See list of mountains in Mexico). Mallen, Enrique. The center of Mexico is a great, high plateau, open to the north, with mountain chains on the east and west and with ocean-front lowlands lying outside of them. ISBN 0-87070-519-9. In the east are the Gulf of Mexico and the Bay of Campeche, which is formed by Mexico's other peninsula, the Yucatán. 1980.

Baja California in the west is a 1,250-km peninsula and forms the Gulf of California. New York. Mexico is bordered by the United States to the north, and Belize and Guatemala to the southeast. William Rubin, chronology by Jane Fluegel. Its width is varied, from more than 2000 km in the north and less than 220 km at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in the south. Ed. Situated in the southwestern part of mainland North America and roughly triangular in shape, Mexico stretches more than 3000 km from northwest to southeast. Pablo Picasso, a retrospective.

Main article: Geography of Mexico. The Museum of Modern Art. The following is a list of the biggest Metropolitan Areas of Mexico in order of population:. List of Picasso artworks 1971-1973. Much of the capital city's metropolitan area overflows the limits of the Federal District. List of Picasso artworks 1961-1970. It enjoys more limited local rule than the nation's "free and sovereign states": only since 1997 have its citizens been able to elect a Head of Government, whose powers are still more curtailed than those of a state governor. List of Picasso artworks 1951-1960.


The Federal District is a special political division in Mexico, where the national capital, Mexico City, is located. List of Picasso artworks 1941-1950. Each state has its own constitution and its citizens elect a governor as well as representatives to their respective state congresses. List of Picasso artworks 1931-1940. Mexico is divided into 31 states (estados) and a federal district. List of Picasso artworks 1921-1930. The three most important political parties in Mexico are the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), the National Action Party (PAN), and the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD). List of Picasso artworks 1911-1920.

His victory ended the Institutional Revolutionary Party's 71-year hold on the presidency. List of Picasso artworks 1901-1910. Fox began his six-year term on December 1, 2000. List of Picasso artworks 1889-1900. The PRI did not lose a senate seat until 1988 or a gubernatorial race until 1989.[1] It wasn't until July 2, 2000, that Vicente Fox of the opposition "Alliance for Change" coalition, headed by the National Action Party (PAN), was elected president. Synthetic Cubism (1912–1919), involving the use of collage and cut paper, the first time collage had been used in fine art. After it was founded in 1929, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) monopolized all the political branches. Picasso and Braque's paintings at this time are very similar to each other.

There is no vice-president in the republic. Analytic Cubism (1909–1912), a style of painting he developed along with Braque using monochrome brownish colours, where they took apart objects and "analyzed" them in terms of their shapes. The president is elected by universal adult suffrage for a six-year term and may not hold office a second time. African-influenced Period (1908–1909), influenced by the two figures on the right in his painting of Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, he used African artifacts as the inspiration for his work. The president also legislates by executive decree in certain economic and financial fields, using powers delegated from Congress. He met Fernande Olivier,a model for sculptors and artists, in Paris at this time, and many of these paintings are influenced by his warm relationship with her, in addition to his exposure to French painting. Congress has played an increasingly important role since 1997, when opposition parties first formed a majority in the legislature. Rose Period (1905–1907), characterized by a more cheerful style with orange and pink colors, and again featuring many harlequins.

Historically, the executive is the dominant branch, with power vested in the [[President of Mexico|president who promulgates and executes the laws of the Congress. Blue Period (1901–1904), consisting of somber, blue-tinted paintings influenced by a trip through Spain and the recent death of a friend, often featuring depictions of acrobats, harlequins, prostitutes, beggars and artists. The 1917 Constitution provides for a federal republic with powers separated into independent executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Mexico’s political model has much in common with that of the United States. On March 23, 2005, the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America was signed by the elected leaders of those countries.

On January 1, 1994, Mexico became a full member of the North American Free Trade Agreement, joining the United States of America and Canada in a large and prosperous economic bloc. In 2000, after seventy years, the PRI lost a presidential elections to a candidate of the National Action Party (PAN), Vicente Fox. Through the electoral reforms started by president Carlos Salinas de Gortari and consolidated by president Ernesto Zedillo, by the mid 1990s the PRI had lost its majority in Congress. It was not until the 1980s that the PRI lost the first state governorship, an event that marked the beginning of the party's loss of hegemony.

Accused many times of fraud, the PRI's candidates held almost all public offices until the end of the 20th century. However the management of the economy collapsed several times afterwards. This was in spite of falling foreign confidence in investment, first through the assumption of mineral rights and subsequent nationalisation of the oil industry into Pemex during the presidency of Lázaro Cárdenas del Río. During the next four decades, Mexico experienced impressive economic growth, and historians call this period "El Milagro Mexicano", the Mexican Miracle.

The creation of the National Revolutionary Party (which later became the Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI), in 1929 ended the struggles, uniting all generals and combatants of the revolution. Revolutionary forces defeated the federal army, but were left with internal struggles, leaving the country in conflict for two more decades. His fraudulent victory in the 1910 elections sparked the Mexican Revolution. Growing social inequalities, restricted freedom of the press, and his insistence to be reelected for a fifth term led to massive protests.

His mandate, however, was mostly undemocratic and benefited the middle and upper classes, while the Amerindian indigenous population continued to live in precarious conditions. This period of relative peace and prosperity is known as the "Porfiriato". Foreign investment allowed the development of the oil industry and the construction of a railroad system across the country. After Juárez's death, Mexico experienced economic growth under the liberal and pro-European rule of Porfirio Díaz.

From then on, Juárez remained in office until his death in 1872. In mid-1867, following repeated losses in battle to the Republican Army, Maximilian was captured and murdered by Juárez's soldiers, along with his last loyal generals, in Querétaro. Napoleon III of France, Emperor of France, returned Maximillian as Emperor of Mexico from 1864 to 1867. However, after his death, the city was lost in early 1863, following a renewed French attack which penetrated as far as Mexico City, forcing Juárez to organize an itinerant government.

General Ignacio Zaragoza defeated the French Army (arguably the most powerful in the world at the time) at the city of Puebla on May 5, 1862, celebrated as Cinco de Mayo ever since. The Second Mexican Empire was then overthrown by President Benito Juárez, with diplomatic and logistical support from the United States and the military expertise of General Porfirio Díaz. In the 1860s, the country again suffered a military occupation, this time by France, seeking to establish the Habsburg Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian of Austria as Emperor of Mexico, with support from the Roman Catholic clergy and conservative criolloss. Mexico was defeated by the United States, resulting in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo, where the United States purchased the remaining disputed territories for $15 million, from which were formed the modern states of California, Nevada, and Utah, and most of Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado (see Mexican-American War).

This resulted in the Mexican-American War from 1846 to 1848. Mexico declared war on 23 May. Polk requested a declaration of war and the US Congress voted in favor on 13 May 1846. President James K.

Mexican troops then attacked and captured one of the American detachments near the Rio Grande. Mexico saw this as an US intervention on internal affairs by supporting a rebel province. The US government sent troops to Texas in order to secure the territory ignoring the Mexican demands of withdrawal. In 1845, voters in Texas approved to be annexed by the United States, and was passed by Congress and signed into law by President John Tyler.

Texas won its independence in 1836, further reducing the territory of the fledgling republic. The inhabitants of Tejas, calling themselves Texans and led mainly by relatively recently-arrived English-speaking settlers, declared independence from Mexico at Washington-on-the-Brazos, giving birth to the Republic of Texas. While negotiations eventually brought Yucatán to again recognize Mexican sovereignty, Santa Anna's army turned to the northern rebellion. Both areas sought independence from the Mexican government.

As president, in 1834 Santa Anna abrogated the federal constitution, causing insurgencies in the southern state of Yucatán and the northernmost portion of the northern state of Coahuila y Tejas. The first Republic was formed with Guadalupe Victoria as its first president, followed in office by Santa Anna. The Empire soon fell to rogue republican forces led by Antonio López de Santa Anna. It also forbade the importation of slaves, a condition that, like the others, was largely ignored.

Soon after achieving its independence from Spain, the Mexican government, in an effort to populate its sparsely-settled hinterlands, awarded land grants in a remote area of the northernmost state of Coahuila y Tejas to hundreds of immigrant families from the United States, on the condition that the settlers convert to Catholicism and assume Mexican citizenship. After independence, Spanish possessions in Central America which also proclaimed independence were all incorporated into Mexico from 1822 to 1823, with the exception of Chiapas. Then, as the war escalated, the objective change to independece from Spain. The initial intention of the movement then, was to be obtain independence from France, but still being part of Spain.

Actually, Hidalgo declared the independence from France, as José Bonaparte (Napoleon's brother), also known in Mexico as Pepe Botella (Spanish: Bottle Joe, as he had a fame of a heavy drinker), was ruling Spain at that time. On September 16, 1810, independence from Spain was declared by Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Catholic priest in the small town of Dolores, causing a long war that eventually led to the official recognition of independence from Spain in 1821 and the creation of the First Mexican Empire. At the end of the 16th century, New Spain was an underpopulated country with abandoned cities, which would be the main cause of collapse of the Mesoamerican cultures. Of the estimated 15 to 20 million of the original prehispanic population, less than two million survived.

There were three separate epidemics that decimated the population: Smallpox (1520-1521), measles ( 1545-1548) and typhus (1576-1581). Most of the settlers had developed an immunity from childhood, but the indigenous peoples had not. Spanish settlers brought with them smallpox, typhus, and other diseases. Louis) and "Vera Cruz" ("True Cross").

Numerous churches and other buildings were constructed in the Spanish style, and cities were named after various saints and objects of veneration, such as "San Luis Potosí" (after St. During the following centuries, under Spanish rule, a new culture developed that combined the customs and traditions of the indigenous peoples with that of Catholic Spain. In modern México, mestizo has became more a cultural term, since a Native American that abandons his traditional ways is considered a mestizo, also most Afromexicans prefer to be considered mestizo, since they feel more identified with this group. Mestizos, while they no longer have a separate legal status from other groups, comprise approximately 60% of the population.

With independence, the caste system and slavery were abolished. Mestizos and criollos were not allowed in the upper levels of the government, and eventually they joined forces for the independence of México. Those who were wealthy enough also tried to have a Spanish wife, who was sent to give birth in Spain to prevent their children from becoming criollos. The Spanish "peninsulares" tried by all means to keep their status, even if they took native women.

Mestizos and then mulattos were next, followed by the unmixed natives, zambos (amerindian mixed with black), and blacks, respectively. There were even two different kinds of whites, those born in Spain, or "peninsulares", and in a lower level, those born in America, or "criollos". Each different mix had a name and different privileges or prohibitions. A system was created to keep each mix in a different social level: "El sistema de castas" (the caste system).

But even if mixes were allowed, the white population tried to keep their status. As a result of these unions, as well as concubinage, a vast class of people known as "Mestizos" and mulattos came into being. However, they eventually mixed with the population resulting in only a few black communities left to date (see Afro-Mexican). After the native population was decimated by epidemics and forced labor, black slaves were imported, and for a time in certain areas they even outnumbered the white populations (few modern Mexicans are aware of or acknowledge this).

The first Spanish colonists were mainly only males, so they took native women, and although rarely, also black women. Unlike the English-speaking colonists of North America, the majority of the Spanish colonists married the natives, and were even encouraged to do so by Queen Isabella during the earliest days of colonization. Bartolome later repented when he saw the treatment given to the black slaves. Due to some horrifying instances of abuse against the indigenous peoples, Bishop Bartolome de las Casas suggested bringing black slaves to replace them.

Although officially they could not become slaves, the system, known as encomienda, came to signify the oppression and exploitation of natives, although its originators did not set out with such intent. Eventually, the natives were declared minors, and forbidden to read and write, so they would always need a white man in charge of them to be responsible of their indoctrination. The Mesoamerican sex education system was set aside and replaced by church education; even some foods associated with religion, like amaranto, were forbidden. Hundreds of thousands of codices were destroyed, priests and teachers were persecuted, and the temples and statues of the gods were destroyed.

As a result, a second wave of missionaries began a process attempting to completely erase the old beliefs, and thus wiped out many aspects of Mesoamerican culture. While it was an important god, because it was the god of the conquerors,they did not see why they had to abandon their old beliefs. The colonists brought with them the Catholic faith, to which the population seemingly converted rapidly, but soon they found that the natives had adopted "the god of the heavens", as they called it, as just one of their gods. Particularly fierce were the "Chichimeca wars" in the north of Mexico (1576-1606).

After the fall of Tenochtitlan, it would take decades of continuous war to pacify Mesoamerica. The arrival of the Spanish in the early 16th century and their defeat of the Mexica in 1521 marked the beginning of the 300 year-long colonial period of Mexico as New Spain. The small Spanish force was reinforced with thousands of indian allies, who were schooled on European warfare. Tlaxcalteca and other nahuatl nations were forced into such wars, so they joined the Spaniard forces against the Aztec.

In order to acquire captives in time of peace, the Aztec resorted to ritual warfare, or flower war. This penchant for human sacrifice proved to be the undoing of the Aztecs, for when they confronted the Spaniards, who fought to the death, their less effective weapons made resistance difficult. As a result, Aztec warfare was conducted with an aim to only injure the enemy, so that he could later be sacrificed, and weapons were constructed with this in mind. This belief was common throughout nahuatl people.

The Aztecs' religious beliefs were based on a fear that the universe would cease functioning without a constant offering of human sacrifice. There were two types of schools: the telpochcalli, for practical and military studies, and the calmecac, for advanced learning in writing, astronomy, statesmanship, theology, and other areas. The Mexica, one of the Aztec groups, were the first people in the world to practice mandatory education for all people, regardless of gender, rank, or station. For them, highly-civilized arts, sculpture, architecture, engraving, feather-mosiac work, and the invention of the calendar were due to the former inhabitants of Tula, the Toltecs, who reached the height of their civilization in the tenth and eleventh centuries.

Latecomers to Mexico's central plateau, the Mexica, or Aztec, as they were sometimes called in memory of Aztlán, the starting point of their tribes wanderings, never thought of themselves as anything but heirs of the brilliant civilizations that had preceded them. Many made war with them, but almost all found themselves within these four spheres of influence. Other regional power players made economic and political alliances with these four civilizations over the span of 4,000 years. They consolidated power and distributed influence in matters of trade, art, politics, technology, and theology.

These four civilizations extended their reach across Mexico and beyond like no others. While many city-states, kingdoms, and empires competed with one another for power and prestige, Mexico had four major, unifying civilizations: The Olmec, Teotihuacan, Toltec, and the Aztec. In turn, they radiated influence outwards onto neighboring cultures. These cities, among several others, blossomed as centers of commerce, ideas, ceremonies, and theology.

At different points in time, three different Mexican cities were the largest cities in the world: Teotihuacan, Tenochtitlan, and Cholula. In fact, the later Mexican civilizations would all carefully build their cities and ceremonial centers according to specific astronomical events. These very early and ancient count-markings were associated with astronomical events and underscore the influence that astronomical activities had upon Mexican natives, even before they possessed civilization. Archaic inscriptions on rocks and rock walls all over northern Mexico (especially in the state of Nuevo León) demonstrate an early propensity for counting in Mexico.

These indigenous civilizations are credited with many inventions: pyramid-temples, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, writing, highly-accurate calendars, fine arts, intensive agriculture, engineering, an abacus, a complex theology, and the wheel. For more than 3,000 years, Mexico was the site of several Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the Aztec, the Olmec, Teotihuacan, the Toltec, Mixtec, Zapotec and the Mayan. and the beginning of intensive farming between 1800 and 1500 BC. Evidence shows the explosion of pottery works by 2300 B.C.

Ancient Mexicans began to selectively breed corn plants around 8,000 B.C. Hunter-Gatherer peoples are thought to have discovered and habitated its territory more than 28,000 years ago. . It is the northernmost and westernmost country in Latin America, and also the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world.

The United Mexican States or Mexico (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos or México; regarding the use of the variant spelling Méjico, see section The name below) is a country located in North America, bordered by the United States to the north, and Belize and Guatemala to the southeast. ISBN 0844227838. "When in Mexico, Do as the Mexicans Do." In depth information about life in Mexico, including culture, history, economy, language and more in 176 comprehensive pages. Kernecker, Herbert.

Beezley, editors, The Oxford History of Mexico, 736 pages, Oxford University Press 2000, ISBN 0195112288 – 20 essays, also covers cultural history. Meyer, William H. Michael C. Maciel, Mexico's Cinema: A Century of Film and Filmmakers, SR Books 1999, ISBN 0842026827 – comprehensive survey.

Joanne Hershfield, David R. Julia Preston and Samuel Dillon, Opening Mexico: The Making of a Democracy, Farrar Straus and Giroux, 2004, hardcover, 608 pages, ISBN 0374226687 – recent history since the Tlatelolco massacre of 1968 told by two journalists. A history of Modern Mexico 1810-1996, 896 pages – Perennial 1998, ISBN 0060929170 - standard work by a renowned Mexican author. Enrique Krauze, Mexico: Biography of Power.

Cockcroft, Mexico's Hope: An Encounter with Politics and History, 320 pages, Monthly Review Press 1999, ISBN 0853459258 – leftist view of Mexican history. James D. Most information summarized from articles in Introduction to Comparative Politics, as part of an AP outline (sorry if some of the sources below have been removed). African.

British, Irish, Dutch and Russian. Arab and Lebanese. Central American and South American. Jewish.

East Asian. American and Canadian. Argentinean. German, Italian and French.

Spanish. Chihuahua, Chihuahua (0.7 million). Cuernavaca, Morelos (0.7 million). Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes (0.7 million).

Santiago de Querétaro, Querétaro (0.8 million). Mérida, Yucatán (0.8 million). San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí (0.8 million). Torreón, Coahuila (1.1 million).

Toluca, México (1.2 million). León, Guanajuato (1.2 million). Tijuana, Baja California (1.5 million). Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua (1.8 million).

Puebla, Puebla (2.6 million). Monterrey, Nuevo León (3.6 million). Guadalajara, Jalisco (4.7 million). Mexico City, Distrito Federal (22.0 million).